Guide
Extreme triathlon: choosing a first XTRI race
The catalogue lists 22 extreme triathlons: 14 at full distance and 7 in the shorter Solo Point Five format, plus Inferno Triathlon in Switzerland. Two rules decide which races are open to you: whether you need a support crew, and whether you have to win a ballot.
Where the figures come from
Distances, climbing, water temperature, dates and fees are read on each race's official page, with the date of reading shown on the race page. Water temperature is the organiser's figure or the expected average for race day. The rules on support crews and ballots quoted below come from the XTRI World Tour site and the race sites, read in October 2026.
Bike climbing is published for 11 of the 14 full-distance races. The figures say how much a course climbs. They say nothing about the gradient of the last climb or the weather in the mountains on the day.
Format
Full distance means bringing a crew
The XTRI World Tour states that a support team is required for its full-distance races. Swissman says it in one line on its home page: every athlete needs a personal supporter. A first full extreme triathlon is therefore a project for two people, with travel and lodging for both.
The Solo Point Five format was built the other way round. The XTRI World Tour presents these races as a way to take on extreme triathlon unsupported, and Celtman says its Solo Point Five needs no support car, no crew and no support runner. The catalogue lists 7 of them: Greek Hero XTRI Solo Point Five, Himalayan XTRI Solo Point Five, CELTMAN! XTRI Solo Point Five, Swedeman XTRI Solo Point Five, ORAVAMAN XTRI Solo Point Five, BLACKLAKE XTRI Solo Point Five, Fodaxman XTRI Solo Point Five.
Climbing
How much the courses climb
On the 11 full-distance courses that publish it, the median bike climbing is 3200 m. The median for IRONMAN full-distance bike courses is 1111 m. The highest figure belongs to ICON Livigno Xtreme Triathlon: 5000 m.
The run is where extreme races differ most from road races. Full-distance run courses have a median of 1700 m of climbing, and up to 2700 m (Formosa Xtreme Triathlon, JÁNOŠÍK Slovak Xtreme Triathlon). Norseman finishes on top of Gaustatoppen. The Solo Point Five bike courses have a median of 2235 m.
Cold water, and how cold
6 of the 8 races with a known water temperature expect 15 °C or less. The coldest figure is 14 °C, at ICON Livigno Xtreme Triathlon. For comparison, the median for IRONMAN full-distance races is 22 °C.
6 races swim in the sea, 12 in a lake and 4 in a reservoir. Norseman starts with a jump from a ferry into the Hardangerfjord at 05:00; the IRONMAN in Scandinavia page sets it and Swedeman beside the IRONMAN races of the region. Wetsuit rules and water temperature limits are set by each organiser and published in the athlete guide.
Four Solo Point Five races for a first extreme triathlon
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CELTMAN! XTRI Solo Point Five
A sea swim at Shieldaig, Scotland, a ride over what the organiser calls Scotland's only alpine pass, and a 21 km trail run. No support car, crew or support runner needed.
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BLACKLAKE XTRI Solo Point Five
Unsupported, at Žabljak, Montenegro, with a swim in the Black Lake. The organiser publishes cut-offs of 1:10 for the swim, 6:30 for the bike and 10:00 for the finish, counted from the start. It hosts the 2027 Solo Point Five World Championship.
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Greek Hero XTRI Solo Point Five
A sea swim at Ipsos, on Corfu, in April, months before the summer races in the Alps and Scandinavia.
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ORAVAMAN XTRI Solo Point Five
A mass start in a reservoir at Liptovská Sielnica, Slovakia, in July.
Ballots, qualification and what the figures miss
The most sought-after races are allocated by ballot. For 2027, the XTRI World Tour lists these entry windows: Norseman until 11 October 2026, Celtman from 17 October to 1 November, Swissman from 31 October to 15 November, and ICON from 14 to 29 November. By 6 November 2026, the Norseman and Celtman windows had closed. Swissman states that all its entries are raffled.
Every full-distance partner race of the XTRI World Tour gives places at the XTRI World Championship at Norseman to the first two men and the first two women. No figure measures mountain weather on race day. Entries are made with the organiser, on the official page.
Two full-distance races and two Solo Point Five, side by side
Distances, climbing, water and dates on the same rows. Swap any race for one you are considering.
Norseman Xtreme Triathlon
SWISSMAN Xtreme Triathlon
CELTMAN! XTRI Solo Point Five
BLACKLAKE XTRI Solo Point Five
- Race 1 Norseman Xtreme Triathlon
- Race 2 SWISSMAN Xtreme Triathlon
- Race 3 CELTMAN! XTRI Solo Point Five
- Race 4 BLACKLAKE XTRI Solo Point Five
- Circuit
- XTRIXTRIXTRIXTRI
- Distance
- Full distanceFull distanceMiddle distanceMiddle distance
- Terrain
- ExtremeExtremeExtremeExtreme
- Swim
- 3.8 km3.8 km1.9 km1.9 km
- Bike
- 180 km180 km92 km85 km
- Run
- 42.2 km42 km21 km21 km
- Date
- 7 Aug 202726 Jun 202719 Jun 20279 Sept 2027
- Country
- NorwaySwitzerlandUnited KingdomMontenegro
- Registration
- ClosedOpenOpenn/a
- Swim venue
- SeaLakeSeaLake
- Average water temperature
- n/an/a15 °C15 °C
- High air temperature
- 15 °C24 °C17 °C16 °C
- Low air temperature
- 7 °C15 °C9 °C5 °C
- Bike profile
- HillyHillyHillyHilly
- Bike elevation gain
- 3,000 mn/a2,270 m2,700 m
- Run profile
- HillyHillyn/aHilly
- Run elevation gain
- 1,700 mn/an/a500 m
- Overall cut-off
- n/an/an/a10 h
- Altitude
- 0 m196 m0 m1,416 m
- First edition
- 2003201320222022
- Swim start
- Mass startMass startMass startn/a
- Entry fee, from
- €550€520£325€305
Questions
What is an extreme triathlon?
A long triathlon on a course chosen for its landscape: cold open water, mountain passes and often a run that climbs to a summit. The XTRI World Tour says its distances are close to full distance but not identical, because each course follows the terrain. The catalogue lists 22 extreme triathlons in 14 countries.
Do I need a support crew for an extreme triathlon?
For the full-distance XTRI races, yes: the XTRI World Tour requires a support team, and Swissman asks every athlete to bring a personal supporter. The Solo Point Five races are designed to be done unsupported.
Is there a shorter extreme triathlon?
The Solo Point Five format covers roughly half the distance, with a median of 90 km on the bike and 21 km on foot. CELTMAN! XTRI Solo Point Five uses much of the main Celtman course.
How do you get a place at Norseman?
Through the Norseman ballot, or by finishing first or second man or woman at one of the full-distance XTRI partner races, which give places at the XTRI World Championship at Norseman. The XTRI World Tour also runs X-Points, which it says increase your odds.
Which extreme triathlons are like Norseman?
Norseman is a full distance with a fjord swim, 3000 m of bike climbing and 1700 m on the run, up to Gaustatoppen. Other full-distance XTRI races in the catalogue share its format, with the support crew the XTRI World Tour requires. Among them: Celtman in Scotland, with a sea swim at °C on average and 2200 m of climbing over 200 km; Swissman, which starts in Lake Maggiore at Ascona and climbs m on the bike; and Swedeman in Sweden, with a lake swim at 15 °C and 205 km of cycling.
Is there an extreme triathlon in France?
The extreme triathlon the catalogue lists in France is Alpsman, held in June at Saint-Jorioz on Lake Annecy: a full distance with 4000 m of bike climbing. Elsewhere in the Alps, Switzerland has Swissman and the Inferno Triathlon from Thun, and Italy has ICON Livigno, held at 1805 m.
When are extreme triathlons held?
The month with the most extreme races in the catalogue is September. 15 of the 22 races are in Europe, 13 of them between June and September; the others are in South America and Asia.
Choose the format, then the course
Open the finder filtered on extreme triathlons and sort by date or distance.
